Phil Lesh loved Port Chester, and Port Chester loved him back.
Lesh, who died last October, visited the village more than 100 times to perform at The Capitol Theatre — first with the Grateful Dead and later leading a rotating cast of all-star musicians.
But the relationship between Port Chester and the legendary jam band bassist runs deeper.
Lesh received a ceremonial “key to the village” from then-Deputy Mayor Luis Marino in 2017 for spreading a message of unity and self-expression in his music, as well as attracting visitors to Port Chester and advocating for organ donation.
A year later, he became an honorary volunteer firefighter during an on-stage ceremony conducted by the village’s Harry Howard Hook & Ladder Co. 1, whose kinship with Lesh goes back to 1971.
On March 14, a one-block stretch of Westchester Avenue at the corner of Broad Street outside The Cap will be named Phil Lesh Lane.
The 4 p.m. street dedication takes place near the historic venue’s stage door that Lesh used during his 106 performances since 2012 and the spot where his tour bus parked.
The ceremony outside the theater will include his son, guitarist/vocalist Grahame Lesh, theater owner Peter Shapiro, Gary Lambert of the Grateful Dead’s SiriusXM Channel, local officials, family, friends, fans, and community members.
Lesh’s four-night run in November 2012 was a touchstone event in the century-old theater’s rebirth under Shapiro’s ownership.
“Phil was like a father to the Capitol, and performed there more times than any other musician in the theater’s history,” Shapiro said. “We are thrilled that he will now be with us, on the same street, for every show the theater has moving forward, forever.”
The commemoration kicks off two performances featuring his son alongside a band that includes Bedford’s Warren Haynes. The two shows, titled “Unbroken Chain” after Lesh’s tune from the Grateful Dead’s 1974 “Mars Hotel” album, unfolds at a time of year when he often celebrated his birthday in Port Chester.
Although the Berkeley native and “Pride of Cucamonga” singer hailed from California, he felt embraced by The Cap, telling the crowd in March 2023 that “it’s like coming home to family and good friends.”
“Phil loved The Cap and the entire community that came to his shows here, and our whole family will always feel the love that reflected back to him and all of us,” Grahame Lesh said. “It is extra special for this commemoration to happen on his 85th birthday weekend.”
Lesh’s activism — he ended his shows with a “Donor Rap” after receiving a life-saving liver transplant in 1988 — will also be celebrated during the commemorative weekend.
The theater at 149 Westchester Ave. will host a blood drive with the Red Cross from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 15, with live music by Grahame Lesh and friends.
The Cap also will be selling commemorative T-shirts with an image of the Lesh Lane sign, with proceeds going to the nonprofits Musicares and Undue Medical Debt.
Marino, now Port Chester’s mayor, said downtown restaurants experienced a surge in business during Lesh’s annual visits to The Cap. He expected members of the village Board of Trustees to attend the street-naming, including John Allen, an avowed Deadhead.
“He was a great gentleman who told me he really loved the village,” Marino said of the Grateful Dead co-founder.
